MASTER OF NERIMA
A Fanfic done by Saint. All Ranma ½ characters are owned by Rumiko Takahashi.
*Okay, people…before everybody sends me to outerspace… I'd added a note at the end of this chapter to EXPLAIN things. I'm sorry I'm such a lousy writer, but could you read it before commenting, please?!!
Chapter 3: Enemies
In another part of Nerima, a figure lay curled up in a ball inside an untidy futon. The room he was in was in complete chaos, reflecting the state of mind the solitary figure was in.
He seemed to be feverish, sweat accumulating on his brow, his whole body shivering violently, his eyes bloodshot… and he was muttering gibberish under his breath.
"Uhhhh… I feel her again…" he muttered restlessly. "Sweet… my blue babyyyy…uhhhh…" His stricken eyes stared blankly with insane need. "Yyy… you will fill me at last… ooohhhh… yes, yes…" he seemed to be speaking to someone even though no one's there. His eyes suddenly dilated.
"… or maybe I will fill you!" Then he suddenly erupted in a fit of hysterical laughter that chilled the bones of anyone who happened to hear.
-o-0-O-0-o-
"
"I – DON'T – CARE – WHAT – RANMA - THINKS!" Akane chanted under her breath as she punctuated each word with a punch or a kick on a hapless punching bag. She'd been doing this for almost an hour, repeating her statement over and over like a mantra while practicing in the dojo.
It had been a week since she'd decided she'd had enough and took her old life back. It had also been a week since she'd last talked to Ranma. Basically, he'd avoided her like she was the plague herself.
Akane wiped her brow angrily and started her chanting- punching again. Everything was now the way she wanted it to be. She had her martial arts back. Everybody was happy for her. She didn't have to worry about any fiancée problem anymore… though she still didn't know how Shampoo and Ukyo had taken the news about her really being a Martial Arts Master and her giving up on Ranma since neither of them had shown up on her doorstep yet.
Atleast Kuno hadn't changed a bit. He still spouted flowery prose whenever he saw her… but he'd been doing that anyway even before Ranma came to live with them. Akane didn't worry much about Kuno even though he'd declared that SHE was his property now that she was out of "the Sorcerer Saotome's" clutches. She snorted, he could never get in her defenses… EVER!!!
The problem was Ranma. He just suddenly turned aloof. He started avoiding her, going to school earlier than her… not watching her Challenge Fights…not even sparing her a glance at lunch time… not even waiting for her after class like he used to…
Akane didn't realize she'd stopped punching the bag. She was recollecting the past and all the time she'd spent with Ranma… their fights, their trips to the ice cream parlor, their adventures… she suddenly shook her head and kicked the punching bag real hard.
"He's an oversized, overbearing JERK! I – don't – care – what – he – thinks!!!" she gritted out as she pummeled the bag with all her strength. When she finished, she panted from all her exertion and finally relaxed.
Well, if he's gonna be that way, well, let him. He's not her problem anymore anyway, she thought petulantly. It's not as if he was anything important to her… She willed her mind not to dwell on her last statement.
Suddenly, a bonbori wizzed through the roof and embedded itself on the floor where Akane originally stood. She had heard the attack coming and sidestepped it calmly. Then she turned around to face the purple haired Chinese girl grinning maniacally at her. Shampoo balanced on a stone by the koi pond.
"Very Good Slow Tomboy to give up on Husband! That means Shampoo now free to give Tomboy girl Kiss of death!!!!", Shampoo said with an evil smile.
Akane answered her smile with an almost same smile of her own. "I don't care what you think, Shampoo, but if you want a fight, I'll gladly give you one!" she replied.
"It would be my Pleasure!" she ended with a dangerous glint in her eye.
Shampoo laughed and suddenly charged inside the dojo. Akane had moved into a ready stance to accept her opponent's blows and easily dodged and parried Shampoo's punches. Then she suddenly swept her leg under Shampoo and the purple haired girl suddenly found herself on the ground. There was a look of unbelief on her face.
"Get serious, Shampoo! I thought you wanted to kill me?" Akane said impatiently. "Or maybe you want me to finish this now?"
Shampoo quickly recovered and rolled away instantly. When she faced Akane again, there was a look of respect in her eyes. "So it is true. Tomboy Girl does have hidden Skill! … Only very Skilled Martial Artists can hide Skill from Amazons" she said with a hint of admiration in her tone, but her voice quickly hardened. "But Tomboy's Skill still not enough to defeat Shampoo!!!"
Shampoo snatched the bonbori from where it had embedded itself earlier, and then shifted into a ready stance. Now she scrutinized her opponent seriously for the first time ever and found shocking information. This wasn't like the old Akane she knew.
She recognized the signs of an experienced warrior. The relaxed stance… the alert gaze… the will to win the fight. She had never seen these things in Akane before.
"This will be fuuuunnn!," Shampooo practically purred.
-o-0-O-0-o-
Ranma was lying in his usual thinking place, on the roof just above Akane's room when he heard a ruckus and saw Shampoo hop in to the dojo.
He instantly flattened himself against the roof.
"Thank Kami she didn't see me!!!" Ranma murmured in relief. He wasn't particularly up to getting glomped so early in the morning.
Then Ranma realized that she wasn't holding a bento when she came in, but a bonbori. Fear suddenly blossomed inside him and he quickly jumped down the roof, Akane's name on his lips.
"Shampoo! Stop it!" Ranma yelled angrily as he dropped down on the ground.
Two pairs of intense female eyes suddenly turned to him. The girls were facing each other in fighting stances when he had interrupted. Ranma suddenly felt like he was just caught doing something wrong.
"Shampoo sorry, Ranma- husband… but NO" Shampoo purred amid clenched teeth. He saw her hand grasp the bonbori tighter. Akane just watched him with a scowl.
"I can fight anyone I please, whenever I please… and I don't need you to fight my battles for me," Akane drawled.
Something suddenly cracked inside Ranma and he was frozen in place. For a crazy moment, he felt that it was his heart.
"I don't need you… I don't need you…" kept echoing inside his mind. As he watched, Shampoo and Akane suddenly ran out of the dojo and jumped over the wall.
-o-0-O-0-o-
A bonbori flew and lodged right where Akane had just been standing. It had been so sudden that she lost her balance as she somersaulted out of its way. Akane gritted her teeth as she quickly recovered her footing. She'd almost forgotten, Amazons fight dirty.
Shampoo balanced on top of a wall with a smug look on her face. "Ranma- husband mine!!!," she stated.
Akane shook her head impatiently. "I am not fighting for Ranma! You can have him if he wants you!!! The hell I care!!!" she yelled out. She pointed a finger at Shampoo.
"I am fighting because of all the months I had to endure your taunts when I could've easily trounced your silly little butt back to China!!!"
Shampoo's eyes widened. "Why you!!!!," she screeched and then quickly caught herself. She nodded curtly and smiled.
"Akane right. We fight for REAL!" she said solemnly. A glint appeared in her eye. Akane nodded too and then the fight was recommenced.
It was Akane's turn to make the first move. To Shampoo's surprise, she suddenly broke into a run, hopping over rooftops and fences.
"Haha!!! Amazons are too slow!!!!" Akane mocked.
With a determined look, Shampoo followed. Akane led her in a merry chase across Nerima. For the second time, she had misjudged her opponent. She'd already known Akane had Stamina, but she clearly had no idea about her speed. To Shampoo's surprise, she was almost as fast as Ranma. She decided to treat this fight as if she was fighting someone she'd never fought before.
Akane suddenly stopped in her tracks and whipped a mean kick to Shampoo's stomach. It caught her square and Shampoo flew backwards. She slammed against a wall and fell down an alley where a trash can fortunately broke her fall. Without hesitation, Akane followed. At the alley, Shampoo was waiting for her. She covered Akane with a series of punches which Akane blocked.
"Take this… and this!!!" Shampoo gritted as she forced Akane into a defense stance. Akane blocked as best as she could but a number still managed to connect. She was being backed to a corner where she had no escape when she caught sight of a short stick lying at her feet. With a deft kick, the stick flew to her hand and she used it to brace Shampoo's onslaught. Then she kicked her out of the way.
"Yeah, yeah… It's not good enough!!!" Akane scoffed. Akane then countered with a swift punch to the face which Shampoo evaded. Unfortunately, it gave Akane an opening in Shampoo's defenses and she gladly took advantage of it.
With a hard high kick, Shampoo suddenly found herself kissing the dirt. Akane hopped away and out of the alley. Honestly, she was getting a bit claustrophobic in there.She almost got a close shave for a minute there. She allowed herself a glance to her surroundings… and found out that she was standing just in front of the Nekohanten. She suddenly got an idea.
Shampoo picked herself up and wiped a bit of blood on her lip. She could see Akane standing in the middle of the street waiting for her, and behind her was the Nekohanten. She suddenly remembered Cologne and was suddenly ashamed. She was losing to a female outsider. This should not be. And Mousse… Mousse would think she was getting soft and who knows what he might think! With a newly restored resolve, she strode out to the sunlight. Shampoo burst out of the darkness of the alley and caught Akane by surprise. With an Amazon cry, she launched a series of kicks and punches at her opponent. Akane blocked some and evaded others but a punch got through her and she was shoved against a wall.
"Ouch!" Akane said wryly, and quickly rolled out of the way of another punch which could have really nailed her for sure. She fell hard on her shoulder to avoid it. Ignoring the twinge of pain, she got back to her feet and evaded a kick. Shampoo tried a high kick next but Akane caught her leg and then suddenly swung her away.
Shampoo crashed against a table inside the Nekohanten. Some of the customers stood up in panic. But most of the Patrons have gotten used with all the fighting, they just watched in interest but still continued eating.
"I want to tell you something before we continue," Akane huffed, trying to catch her breath. Shampoo took her time extricating herself from her mess.
"It's a pity you don't even notice what a good looking Guy you've got who's already in love with you"
Shampoo frowned at Akane. "Tomboy Girl mean Mousse? Mousse not powerful. Shampoo beats Mousse all the time. Tomboy Girl can have Mousse for herself!" she said scornfully. She finally regained her feet.
Akane laughed. "Don't you realize Mousse is made of sterner stuff than you think? He almost beat Ranma one time. He just lets you beat him because he's in love with you."
Shampoo scowled.
"Oh well, if you won't have him… I'll take him. Here he is now!!!" Akane said silkily. Mousse just stepped out of the kitchen and was looking blankly at them. Suddenly, Akane's aura started to glow. To Shampoo's amazement, Akane strode toward Mousse.
Mousse had just stepped out of the kitchen when he found Akane and Shampoo facing each other in the middle of the room. His first inclination was to glomp Shampoo but his eyes for some reason seemed to be glued to Akane. She was walking towards him. As she neared, a warm feeling suddenly started to seep inside him and it seemed like he was drowning inside her beautiful brown eyes. She laid a hand against his chest and smiled up at him.
"Do you love me, Mousse?" she whispered with a sad smile.
"Yes…" he said as his arms started to enfold her in an embrace. Akane quickly backed away.
"I know you'll hate me when I'm finished with this, but I think this is the right thing to do,'she whispered, then in a louder voice she said "Then show Shampoo how much you love me," as she turned back at her flabbergasted opponent.
Mousse looked at Shampoo as if he'd never ever seen her before let alone was in love with her. It was the first time Shampoo had ever seen his steely eyes. He'd always looked at her behind fogged up glasses before.
"Ofcourse, my love," he said gravely. Then without warning, he attacked.
-o-0-O-0-o-
AUTHOR"S NOTES:
I have just discovered that Author's notes are a very valuable part of fanfiction, and I'm determined to use it from now on…… Now… To explain some points about what I wrote:
1.) Shampoo and Akane are FIGHTING. "Amazons are too slow" is a taunt, for Christ's sake.
2.) Nobody said Akane turned to some kind of Superman, okay? If you noticed, she used Mousse to fight Shampoo and Shampoo gets into her defenses when they to get hand to hand combat. I just upped her so that she'll be in Ranma's league. Let's say she's as powerful as Ukyo without her Spatula. Her power is her Charisma, ok?